System and method for allocating resources

ABSTRACT

A system and method for performing beam management is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes: determining a relationship between a first reference signal and a second reference signal, wherein the first and second reference signals share a same or similar one or more of the following properties: a channel property, a transmission property and a reception property; and transmitting the first and second reference signals to a wireless communication node.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation application of PCTinternational application PCT/CN2017/083350, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODFOR ALLOCATING RESOURCES,” filed on May 5, 2017, which is incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, moreparticularly, to systems and methods for performing beam management.

BACKGROUND

In current architectures for beam reporting, only channel stateinformation—reference signals (CSI-RS's) are used for beam managementfunctions such as beam sweeping, beam determination and beam reporting(e.g., reporting beam ID and layer 1 (L1) reference signal receivedpower (RSRP), etc.). When searching for new beams to establish a newcommunication link when a radio channel is blocked, e.g., by a human,building or other obstacle, the drawback of using CSI-RS's (i.e.,limited spatial coverage) for beam management is increased. Morespecifically, UE-specific CSI-RS's are limited to the narrow spatialcoverage provided by their respective beams. For instance, if a basestation (BS) such as a next generation nodeB (gNodeB or gNB) has amultiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) antenna array that includes 1024 antennaelements, the number of narrow beams for transmission can be up to 4096beams. In order to identify which of these beams are suitable or “best”for communications with a respective UE, aperiodic sub-band channelquality indicator (CQI) measurements may be sent by a UE via thePhysical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). However, such CQI measurementsmust be transmitted when an RF beam from a respective transmission point(TRP) is focused on a sub-area that contains the current UE location.

Performing such beam management functions can cause undue delays andresult in system utilization inefficiencies. For example, delays of upto tens of milliseconds at a 60 KHz subcarrier spacing may be caused,which is unacceptable for many applications in a real network.Additionally, as mentioned above, when using CSI-RS's alone, once theradio link is blocked or a beam link failure occurs, it is difficult toidentify new beams given the narrow beam widths associated with CSI-RSsignals transmitted by a base station. Thus, bottlenecks due to limitedspatial coverage are observed by current beam management techniques thatutilize only CSI-RS's. Therefore, there is a need for improved methodsof performing beam management functions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving theissues relating to one or more of the problems presented in the priorart, as well as providing additional features that will become readilyapparent by reference to the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompany drawings. In accordance with variousembodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices and computer programproducts are disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that theseembodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and itwill be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read thepresent disclosure that various modifications to the disclosedembodiments can be made while remaining within the scope of theinvention. In one embodiment, a method includes: storing a relationshipbetween a first reference signal and a second reference signal, whereinthe first reference signal is a first reference signal type and thesecond reference signal is a second reference signal type different fromthe first reference signal type, and wherein the first and secondreference signals share a same or similar one or more of the followingproperties: a channel property, a transmission property and a receptionproperty; and transmitting the first and second reference signals to awireless communication node.

In a further embodiment, a method includes: receiving a first referencesignal of a first type transmitted using a first resource; receiving asecond reference signal of a second type different from the first typetransmitted using a second resource, wherein the first and secondreference signals share a same or similar one or more of the followingproperties: a channel property, a transmission property and a receptionproperty; measuring a first signal quality parameter associated with thefirst reference signal; generating a beam report based on at least themeasured first signal quality parameter; and transmitting the beamreport to a communication node.

In another embodiment, a communication node includes: a memory forstoring a relationship between a first reference signal and a secondreference signal, wherein the first reference signal is a firstreference signal type and the second reference signal is a secondreference signal type different from the first reference signal type,and wherein the first and second reference signals share a same orsimilar one or more of the following properties: a channel property, atransmission property and a reception property; and a transmitterconfigured to transmit the first and second reference signals to awireless communication node.

In yet another embodiment, a communication node, includes: a receiverconfigured to: receive a first reference signal of a first typetransmitted using a first resource; receive a second reference signal ofa second type different from the first type transmitted using a secondresource, wherein the first and second reference signals share a same orsimilar one or more of the following properties: a channel property, atransmission property and a reception property; at least one processorconfigured to: determine a first signal quality parameter associatedwith the first reference signal; generate a beam report based on atleast the measured first signal quality parameter; and a transmitterconfigured to transmit the beam report to a second communication node.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in detailbelow with reference to the following Figures. The drawings are providedfor purposes of illustration only and merely depict exemplaryembodiments of the invention to facilitate the reader's understanding ofthe invention. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered limitingof the breadth, scope, or applicability of the invention. It should benoted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are notnecessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary cellular communication network 100 inwhich techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates block diagrams of an exemplary base station and userequipment device, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a conceptual block diagram of grouping or associatingtwo or more different types of RS resources into a single resourcegroup, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a conceptual block diagram of a first resource setconsisting of two SS block resources being QCLed with a second resourceset consisting of four CSI-RS resources, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate conceptual block diagrams of an exemplaryBitmap-based association between a first resource set and a secondresource set, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a signal diagram wherein information about fourCSI-RS resources and two SS block resources are transmitted during onebeam reporting window, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of first, second and third resourcesets, which are reported in one beam reporting window, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a first resource set containing only CSI-RS resourcesand a second resource set containing only SS block resources, eachassociated with respective links, which are associated with one beamreport, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a first resource set consisting of only CSI-RSresources and associated with a first link and a first beam reportsetting, and a second resource set consisting of only SS block resourcesand associated with a second link and a second beam report setting, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a signal diagram wherein periodic CSI-RS and SSblock signals are both used to generate beam reports transmitted via aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource, in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a signal diagram wherein only SS block signals areused to generate beam reports transmitted via a physical random accesschannel (PRACH) resource, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below withreference to the accompanying figures to enable a person of ordinaryskill in the art to make and use the invention. As would be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the presentdisclosure, various changes or modifications to the examples describedherein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.Thus, the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodimentsand applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, thespecific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein aremerely exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, the specificorder or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can bere-arranged while remaining within the scope of the present invention.Thus, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that themethods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts ina sample order, and the invention is not limited to the specific orderor hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network 100 inwhich techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure. The exemplary communicationnetwork 100 includes a base station (BS) 102 and a user equipment (UE)device 104 that can communicate with each other via a communication link110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel), and a cluster of notionalcells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 overlaying a geographicalarea 101. In FIG. 1, the BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within thegeographic boundary of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134,136, 138 and 140 may include at least one base station operating at itsallocated bandwidth to provide adequate radio coverage to its intendedusers. For example, the base station 102 may operate at an allocatedchannel transmission bandwidth to provide adequate coverage to the UE104. The base station 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via a downlinkradio frame 118, and an uplink radio frame 124 respectively. Each radioframe 118/124 may be further divided into sub-frames 120/126 which mayinclude data symbols 122/128. In the present disclosure, the basestation (BS) 102 and user equipment (UE) 104 are described herein asnon-limiting examples of “communication nodes,” generally, which canpractice the methods disclosed herein. Such communication nodes may becapable of wireless and/or wired communications, in accordance withvarious embodiments of the invention.

In network 100, a signal transmitted from the base station 102 maysuffer from the environmental and/or operating conditions that causeundesirable channel characteristic, such as Doppler spread, Dopplershift, delay spread, multipath interference, etc. mentioned above. Forexample, multipath signal components may occur as a consequence ofreflections, scattering, and diffraction of the transmitted signal bynatural and/or man-made objects. At the receiver antenna 114, amultitude of signals may arrive from many different directions withdifferent delays, attenuations, and phases. Generally, the timedifference between the arrival moment of a first received multipathcomponent (typically the line of sight (LOS) component) and the lastreceived multipath component (typically a non-line of sigh (NLOS)component) is called delay spread. The combination of signals withvarious delays, attenuations, and phases may create distortions such asinter-symbol interference (ISI) and inter-channel interference (ICI) inthe received signal. The distortion may complicate reception andconversion of the received signal into useful information. For example,delay spread may cause ISI in the useful information (data symbols)contained in the radio frame 124.

FIG. 2 illustrates block diagrams of an exemplary system 200 including abase station 202 and UE 204 for transmitting and receiving wirelesscommunication signals, e.g., OFDM/OFDMA signals, between each other. Thesystem 200 may include components and elements configured to supportknown or conventional operating features that need not be described indetail herein. In one exemplary embodiment, system 200 can be used totransmit and receive data symbols in a wireless communicationenvironment such as the wireless communication environment 100 of FIG.1, as described above.

The base station 202 includes a BS transceiver module 210, a BS antenna212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a networkcommunication module 218, each module being coupled and interconnectedwith one another as necessary via a date communication bus 220. The UE204 includes a UE transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memorymodule 234, and a UE processor module 236, each module being coupled andinterconnected with one another as necessary via a date communicationbus 240. The BS 202 communicates with the UE 204 via a communicationchannel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium known inthe art suitable for transmission of data as described herein.

As would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, system200 may further include any number of modules other than the modulesshown in FIG. 2. Those skilled in the art will understand that thevarious illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logicdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or anypractical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate thisinterchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps are described generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Those familiar with the conceptsdescribed herein may implement such functionality in a suitable mannerfor each particular application, but such implementation decisionsshould not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the presentinvention.

In accordance with some embodiments, UE transceiver 230 may be referredto herein as an “uplink” transceiver 230 that includes a RF transmitterand receiver circuitry that are each coupled to the antenna 232. Aduplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplinktransmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in time duplex fashion.Similarly, in accordance with some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210may be referred to herein as a “downlink” transceiver 210 that includesRF transmitter and receiver circuitry that are each coupled to theantenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple thedownlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in timeduplex fashion. The operations of the two transceivers 210 and 230 arecoordinated in time such that the uplink receiver is coupled to theuplink antenna 232 for reception of transmissions over the wirelesstransmission link 250 at the same time that the downlink transmitter iscoupled to the downlink antenna 212. Preferably there is close timesynchronization with only a minimal guard time between changes in duplexdirection.

The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 areconfigured to communicate via the wireless data communication link 250,and cooperate with a suitably configured RF antenna arrangement 212/232that can support a particular wireless communication protocol andmodulation scheme. In some exemplary embodiments, the UE transceiver 608and the base station transceiver 602 are configured to support industrystandards such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5Gstandards, and the like. It is understood, however, that the inventionis not necessarily limited in application to a particular standard andassociated protocols. Rather, the UE transceiver 230 and the basestation transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternate, oradditional, wireless data communication protocols, including futurestandards or variations thereof.

In accordance with various embodiments, the BS 202 may be an evolvednode B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a picostation, for example. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be embodied invarious types of user devices such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), tablet, laptop computer, wearablecomputing device, etc. The processor modules 214 and 236 may beimplemented, or realized, with a general purpose processor, a contentaddressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specificintegrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitableprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform thefunctions described herein. In this manner, a processor may be realizedas a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine,or the like. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital signal processor anda microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, orany other such configuration.

Furthermore, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connectionwith the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly inhardware, in firmware, in a software module executed by processormodules 214 and 236, respectively, or in any practical combinationthereof. The memory modules 216 and 234 may be realized as RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumknown in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 may becoupled to the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such thatthe processors modules 210 and 230 can read information from, and writeinformation to, memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. The memorymodules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respectiveprocessor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, the memory modules216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during execution ofinstructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230,respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each includenon-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by theprocessor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware,software, firmware, processing logic, and/or other components of thebase station 202 that enable bi-directional communication between basestation transceiver 602 and other network components and communicationnodes configured to communication with the base station 202. Forexample, network communication module 218 may be configured to supportinternet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, without limitation,network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interfacesuch that base station transceiver 210 can communicate with aconventional Ethernet based computer network. In this manner, thenetwork communication module 218 may include a physical interface forconnection to the computer network (e.g., Mobile Switching Center(MSC)).

In order to meet the performance requirements of International MobileTelecommunications (IMT)-Advanced systems, the LTE/LTE-Advancedstandards have offered several features to optimize radio networks inthe frequency, time and/or spatial domains. With the continuingevolutions of wireless technologies, it is expected that future radioaccess networks will be able to support the explosive growth of wirelesstraffic. Among these features, widening the system bandwidth is onestraightforward way to improve the link and system capacity, which isalready being tested and confirmed by the deployment of carrieraggregation in LTE-Advanced systems.

As the demand for capacity increases, mobile industries as well asacademia have become more interested in increasing system bandwidths togreater than 100 MHz. Additionally, because spectrum resources operatingbelow a frequency of 6 GHz have become more congested, high-frequencycommunications above 6 GHz are well-suited to support system bandwidthsof more than 100 MHz, or even up to 1 GHz.

In some embodiments, communications between a base station and a UE areimplemented with signal frequencies greater than 6 GHz, which are alsocalled “millimeter wave communications.” When using wide or ultra widespectrum resources, however, a considerable propagation loss can beinduced by high operating frequencies (i.e., greater than 6 GHz). Tosolve this, antenna array and beamforming (BF) training technologiesusing Massive MIMO, e.g., 1024 antenna elements for one node, have beenadopted to achieve beam alignment and obtain sufficiently high antennagain. To keep implementation costs down while benefiting from antennaarray technologies, analog phase shifters have become attractive forimplementing mm wave beam forming (BF), which means that the number ofphases is finite and other constraints (e.g., amplitude constraints) canbe placed on the antenna elements to provide variable-phase-shift basedBF. Given such pre-specified beam patterns, e.g., the antenna weightvector (AWV) codebook, the variable-phase-shift-based BF trainingtargets to identify the best-N beams, for subsequent data transmissioncan be determined.

In order to perform beam management in MIMO systems, the BS 102 maytransmit a plurality of beams each containing a CSI-RS for one or moreUEs (e.g., UE 104) within the coverage range of the BS 102. Uponreceiving a particular beam containing the CSI-RS, the UE 104 mayperform channel estimation based on the received CSI-RS. Thereafter, theUE 104 may transmit to the BS 102 a channel state information (CSI)signal associated with the beam selected by the UE 104. The UE 104 mayperform beamforming based on the CSI of the selected beam which containsthe CSI-RS. Thereafter, the BS 102 may transmit user data for the UE byprecoding the user data based on the received CSI. As explained above,although the beamformed CSI-RS has antenna gain, narrow beam widths ofthe CSI-RS could mean that the UE 104 may not receive the CSI-RS signal.For the example, if the UE is in between a first beam and a second beam,the UE 104 may not receive the CSI-RS. Since the current LTE-Acommunication system has a limited number (e.g., 8) antenna ports forCSI-RS, the antenna ports do not normally provide sufficient coverage inthe vertical dimension. This means that only some UE's within a cellcoverage may receive a CSI-RS successfully, while other UE's may notreceive one of these narrow beams. Therefore, an improved beammanagement method is desirable.

In various embodiments of the invention, in addition to provided CSI-RSsignals for beam management, one or more second types of referencesignals (RS's) are utilized to provide broader beam coverage. In someembodiments, the second type of RS is provided by a synchonizationsignal (SS) block, which includes at least a primary synchronizationsignal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH). In some embodiments, the demodulationreference signal (DMRS) associated with the PBCH can be used for beammanagement purposes. As used herein, “SS block” refers to any one ormore of the PSS, SSS or DMRS of the PBCH, which can share the sametransmission (Tx) beam. Both the CSI-RS and SS-block signals arebeamformed signals with a specified radio-propagation direction. The SSblock can be considered as a cell-specific configured RS, while theCSI-RS can be considered as a UE-specific configured RS. The former cancover a wide area within a cell and serve all UEs within the wide area,however, it's spatial resolution is low (i.e., it is transmitted as awide beam). On the other hand, the CSI-RS provides higher spatialresolution (i.e., a narrow beam) and a stronger signal within the narrowbeam, but covers only a narrow area. Thus, the combination of bothCSI-RS and SS block signals can provide both wide area coverage and highspatial resolution to enable faster, more efficient identification ofnew beams when a current channel is blocked, weak and/or distorted.

Grouping/Associating Different RS's

FIG. 3 illustrates a conceptual block diagram of grouping or associatingtwo or more different types of RS resources (e.g., a CSI-RS resource anda SS block resource) into a single resource group that may be allocatedto one or more UE's. In accordance with various embodiments, a resourcegroup 300 may be created by grouping a CSI-RS resource and a SS resourcewhen the CSI-RS and the SS block resources share the same or similarchannel properties. As used herein, the term “resource” refers to anynetwork or protocol resource (e.g., a resource block, a resourceelement, slot, subframe, sub-carrier, etc.) that may be allocated to oneor more UE's for transmitting signals thereto. When two or more types ofresources share the same or similar channel properties and are groupedtogether, such resources are said to be “quasi-co-located (QCLed)”herein. Such grouping may be performed by a communication node such as aBS and/or a UE, as described herein.

In accordance with various embodiments, channel properties fordetermining whether two or more resources should be QCLed can includeone or more of the following properties: (1) Doppler spread; (2) Dopplershift; (3) delay spread; (4) average delay; (5) average gain; and (6)Spatial parameter. As used herein, “Doppler spread” refers to thefrequency-domain spread for one received multipath component, “Dopplershift” refers to the frequency difference between one carrier componentobserved by a receiver and that transmitted by a transmitter in terms ofcarrier frequency, “delay spread” refers to the time difference betweenthe arrival moment of a first received multipath component (typicallythe line of sight (LOS) component) and the last received multipathcomponent (typically a non-line of sigh (NLOS) component), “averagedelay” refers to weighed average of delay of all multipath componentsmultiplied by a power of each components, “average gain” refers to anaverage transmission power per antenna port or resource element, and“Spatial parameter” refers to spatial-domain properties of multipathcomponents observed by a receiver, such as angle of arrival (AoA),spatial correlation, etc. This information of channel properties can bepre-defined or configured by L-1 or higher level signaling. For example,it can be predefined that two channel properties are similar to eachother when their respective parameter values are within 5% or 10% ofeach other.

In one embodiment, for example, a CSI-RS resource is QCLed with a SSblock resource if their respective channels share the same or similarDoppler shift properties. In this instance, the SS block signals (i.e.,PSS and/or SSS) can be used as a reference signal for synchronizing theCSI-RS signal when the CSI-RS and SS block signals are transmitted fromdifferent TRPs (e.g., different antenna ports or elements) of the BS,e.g., in a multiple TRP scenario similar to a LTE coordinated multipoint(CoMP) scenario. In such a scenario, since the BS is aware of the timingparameters of all its antenna ports, all of its antenna ports andelements can be synchronized or coordinated with one another. Therefore,the SS block signal received by a UE can enable the UE to synchronizewith the corresponding QCLed CSI-RS and thereafter utilize the channel(beam) corresponding to the CSI-RS for further communications with theBS.

In one embodiment, a CSI-RS resource is QCLed with a SS block resourceif their respective channels share the same or similar Doppler shift andSpatial parameter properties. In this instance, the SS block signals(i.e., PSS and/or SSS) can be used as a reference signal forsynchronizing the CSI-RS signal when the CSI-RS and SS block signals aretransmitted from different TRPs of the BS.

In a further embodiment, a CSI-RS resource is QCLed with a SS blockresource if their respective channels share the same or similar Dopplershift and average delay properties. In this instance, the SS blocksignals (i.e., PSS and/or SSS) can be used as a reference signal forsynchronizing the CSI-RS signal when the CSI-RS and SS block signals aretransmitted from the same TRP of the BS.

In a further embodiment, a CSI-RS resource is QCLed with a SS blockresource if their respective channels share the same or similar Dopplershift, average delay and Spatial parameter properties. In this instance,the SS block signals (i.e., PSS and/or SSS) can be used as a referencesignal for synchronizing the CSI-RS signal when the CSI-RS and SS blocksignals are transmitted from the same TRP of the BS.

In a further embodiment, a CSI-RS resource is QCLed with a SS blockresource if their respective channels share the same or similar Dopplershift and average delay properties. In this instance, the SS blocksignals (i.e., PSS and/or SSS) can be used as a reference signal forsynchronizing the CSI-RS signal when the CSI-RS and SS block signals aretransmitted from the same TRP of the BS.

In another embodiment, a CSI-RS resource is QCLed with a SS blockresource if their respective channels share the same or similar Dopplerspread, Doppler shift, delay spread and average delay properties. Inthis instance, the SS block can be used as a reference signal for theCSI-RS for frequency and time tracking. In various communication nodesthat are capable of wireless network communications, the centralfrequency and phase of an oscillator can be time variant. Additionally,a UE's movement can also have some affects on the carrier's frequencyand time phase from the UE's perspective. Therefore, the SS block havingthe same or a nearby port in the neighborhood of the CSI-RS port can beused for highly accurate time and frequency error estimation.

In yet another embodiment, a CSI-RS resource is QCLed with a SS blockresource if their respective channels share the same or similar Dopplerspread, Doppler shift, delay spread, average delay and Spatial parameterproperties. In this instance, the SS block can be used as a referencesignal for the CSI-RS for frequency and time tracking when a similartransmission (Tx) beam is transmitted for both the SS block and CSI-RSsignals.

In another embodiment, one or more CSI-RS resources can be grouped bythe UE based on whether or not they have similar channel properties asone SS block. In some embodiments, the SS block serves as referencesignaling for the CSI-RS grouping. In such scenarios, the SS blockidentification (ID) value can be used as a group ID.

In some embodiments, a CSI-RS resource and a SS block resource can begrouped into a resource group allocated to one or more UE's if theresources share the same or similar transmission properties per a TRPbasis (for transmission/resource setting). In some embodiments, thetransmission properties include: (1) whether the resources use the sameTRP antenna group, e.g., Tx panel; (2) whether the resources are fromthe same physical location (e.g., same BS or same TRP); (3) whether theresources can be transmitted simultaneously with each other; and (4)whether the resources cannot be transmitted simultaneously with eachother. In such embodiments, when two or more types of resources sharethe same or similar transmission properties and are grouped together,such resources are said to be “quasi-co-located (QCLed)” herein.

In some embodiments, a CSI-RS resource and a SS block resource can begrouped into a resource group if they share the same or similarreception properties per UE basis (used for UE reporting). In someembodiments, these reception properties include: (1) whether theresources can be received by the same UE antenna group; (2) whether theresources are received by certain UE receive modes and/or beams; (3)whether the resources can be received simultaneously; and (4) whetherthe resources cannot be received simultaneously. In these embodiments,when two or more types of resources share the same or similar receptionproperties and are grouped together, such resources are said to be“quasi-co-located (QCLed)” herein.

QCL Inheriting Across Different RS Groups

In some embodiments, if two CSI-RS groups are QCLed with two differentSS blocks, respectively, by a BS, and the UE groups the two different SSblocks through reporting, this implies that two CSI-RS groups share thesame channel, transmission and/or receive properties as the SS blocksthey are QCLed with. In other embodiments, if the BS configures two SSblocks as being QCLed with each other, and then the BS configures afirst CSI-RS-A as QCLed with one of the SS blocks, and configures asecond CSI-RS-B as QCLed with the other SS block, this implies thatthese CSI-RS-A and CSI-RS-B sets are QCLed with each other.

Methods of Association/Relationship Configuration Between CSI-RSResource (Set) and SS Resource (Set)

In some embodiments, QCL grouping can be performed on an antennaport-by-port basis, or resource by resource basis. In thisconfiguration, a resource set is QCL'ed with another resource set withthe same number of ports/resources, i.e., it is QCL'ed port-by-port orresource-by-resource, respectively. In alternative embodiments, a firstresource set can be QCL'ed with a second resource set having a differentnumber of resources. In other words, M port/resources can be QCLed withN ports/resources, where M and N are each positive integers that may ormay not be equal to each other.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which a first resource set consistingof two SS block resources #1 and #2 are QCLed with a second resource setconsisting of four CSI-RS resources #1-#4. In some embodiments, such aQCL association implies that all the involved resources share the sameor similar channel, transmission and/or receive properties, as discussedabove. In alternative embodiments, a subset of the resources in thefirst resource set may be QCLed with a respective subset of resources inthe second resource set. In some embodiments, the association betweensubsets of resources may be specified by a bit map. In alternativeembodiments, a first resource set includes SS block resources 1 to K₁,and CSI-RS resources 1 to X₁, where X₁ is an integer multiple of K₁(i.e., X₁=M×K₁, where M, K₁ and X₁ are positive integers). Each SS blockresource is QCLed with M CSI-RS resources in sequential order. Forexample, SS block resource #1 is QCLed with CSI-RS resources #1 to # M,SS block resource #2 is QCLed with CSI-RS resources # M+1 to #2M, and soon, and SS block resource # K₁ is QCLed with CSI-RS resources #M×(K₁−1)+1 to # M×K₁. In some embodiments, the value of K₁ is determinedby the BS 102 and then indicated (e.g., transmitted) to the UE 104.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary Bitmap-based association, in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 5A, a firstresource set comprises three SS block resources #1-#3, while a secondresource set comprises four CSI-RS resources #1-#4. A four-bit bitmapcan specify which of the resources in the second resource set is QCLedwith each of the resources in the first resource set, where a value of“1” indicates an association and a value of “0” indicates noassociation. In the example of FIG. 5A, a bitmap of 0110 associated withSS block resource #1 indicates that it is associated with CSI-RSresources #2 and #3. Similarly, a bitmap of 1000 associated with SSblock #2 indicates it is associated with CSI-RS resource #1. No bit mapis necessary for the last resource block, SS block #3, in the firstresource sent since it is assumed it is associated with any remainingresource(s) (i.e., CSI-RS resource #4) in the second resource set notassociated with SS blocks #1 and #2. This association of respectivesubsets of the first and second resource sets is shown in FIG. 5B.

Hybrid SS and CSI-RS Based Beam Management

In some embodiments, CSI-RS and SS blocks are both configured/associatedwith one beam report (i.e., information about CSI-RS and SS blockresources are sent in one reporting window or period). In contrast tochannel state information (CSI) acquisition, beam reporting allowsresource and/or resource+port selection in accordance with one or morepre-specified rules, such as maximizing RSRP, and/or one or morepriority rules, such as the SS block can be reported only if no CSI-RS'schannel properties meet the condition (e.g., none provide a max RSRP).In some embodiments, information about different RSs can be reported orindicated (e.g., CRI-RS Resource Indicator (CRI), SS block ID, etc.)within the same reporting format. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates asignal diagram wherein information about four CSI-RS resources and twoSS block resources are transmitted by the UE 104 to the BS 102 duringone beam reporting window.

In some embodiments, a resource set can contain two or more differenttypes of resources (e.g., CSI-RS resources and SS block resources). FIG.7 illustrates a block diagram of first, second and third resource sets,which are reported in one beam reporting window. The first resource setincludes SS block resources 1 to K₁, and CSI-RS resources 1 to X₁, whereK₁ and X₁ are positive integers. The second resource set includes SSblock resources 1 to K₂, and CSI-RS resources 1 to X₂, where K₂ and X₂are positive integers. The third resource set includes only one type ofresources, e.g., CSI-RS resources 1 to X₃, where X₃ is a positiveinteger. In accordance with various embodiments, the integers K₁, X₁,K₂, X₂ and X₃ may or may not be equal to one another. Thus, within eachof the first and second resource sets, two different types of RS arecontained, and a new resource ID can be assigned to each resource setcontaining the different types of RS's. In some embodiments, the newresource ID can indicate a priority of the RS's in the resource set. Forexample, resource ID's within a higher range of resource ID's mayindicate that in the corresponding resource sets, the CSI-RS resourceshave a higher priority than the SS block resources in the same resourceset. For example, having a higher priority means that the beamsassociated with the CSI-RS resources are utilized first, and the SSblock beams are only utilized if none of the CSI-RS resources satisfy apredetermined criterion (e.g., a threshold RSRP value).

As shown in FIG. 7, three resource sets, each containing one or moretypes of resource, can be associated with three respective links (i.e.,common resources used for transmission) and one beam report that is sentto the UE. It is understood that in accordance with various embodiments,the principles of the present disclosure can be applied to associate Llinks with N resource sets with M beam reports, where L, N and M arepositive integers greater than 0, which may or may not be equal to oneanother.

In some embodiments, a plurality of resource sets can be associated withone report setting as defined by the BS 102, where each resource setincludes only one type of RS. In some embodiments, the report settingdefined by the BS 102 informs the UE 104 how to create reports based ona plurality of reference signal types received by the UE, predefinedrules, priorities, etc. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a firstresource set includes only SS block resources 1 to K and a secondresource set includes only CSI-RS resources 1 to X, wherein K and X arepositive integers greater than 0 which may or may not be equal to eachother. As shown in FIG. 8, a first resource set #1 containing onlyCSI-RS resources and a second resource set #2 containing only SS blockresources, are associated with respective links, which are associatedwith one beam report session. In some embodiments, a BS can configurethe priority of the different RS's. For example, a UE performs beammeasurements based on the received CSI-RS signals. If the RSRPassociated with one or more CSI-RS is greater than a threshold, beamreporting is carried out based only on the CSI-RS measurements;otherwise, beam reporting is also performed based on SS block resources.

In some embodiments, a first resource set may comprise only CSI-RSresources and be associated with a first link and a first beam reportsetting, while a second resource set may comprise only SS blockresources and associated with a second link and a second beam reportsetting. This simplified scenario is shown in FIG. 9, wherein eachreport setting is associated with only one type of RS. In someembodiments, while the UE 104 is performing beam reporting, beam relatedfeedback information (e.g., resource indicator, port indicator and RSRP)can be grouped based on type of RSs, as shown in Tables 1-2 below. Insome embodiments, within one reported group, only one beam's informationis reported as its absolute value, and the corresponding values of otherbeams as reported as relative values, relative to the absolute value.

TABLE 1 One beam group RSRP CRI-i1 Absolute value, e.g., −75 dBm CRI-i2Relative value, e.g., −3 dB CRI-i3 Relative value, e.g., −4 dB

TABLE 2 CSI-RS CRI-i1 Absolute value, e.g, −75 dBm CRI-i2 Relativevalue, e.g., −3 dB CRI-i3 Relative value, e.g., −4 dB SS Indicatorinformation-1 on SS Absolute value, e.g, −65 dBm Indicator information-2on SS Relative value, e.g., −3 dB Indicator information-3 on SS Relativevalue, e.g., −4 dB

In some embodiments, the differences in received power of the differenttypes of RS's received by a UE is reported by the UE. Additionally, theUE can determine both the received RSRP and transmission power for eachtype of RS for beam reporting. This information can be configured withina RS resource setting, pre-defined or independently by systeminformation, shown in Table 3 below.

TABLE 3 Type of RS Information CSI-RS Transmission power #1, e.g., 35dBm SS Transmission power #1, e.g., 45 dBm . . . . . .

In some embodiments, different thresholds are predefined for differentRS types. For example, in some embodiments, only RS resources whose RSRPvalues are more than a predefined threshold are reported, while other RSresources are not reported. In some embodiments, different thresholdsset for different RS types are defined and stored by the BS.

Hybrid Beam Reporting During Beam Recovery

In some embodiments, periodic CSI-RS and SS block resources are bothconfigured by a BS to find new beams. For example, when the UE issynchronized with the BS for uplink (UL) transmissions, periodic CSI-RSand SS block signals can be both used to generate beam reports by theUE, which are transmitted via a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)resource, along with a scheduling request (SR), for example, as shown inFIG. 10, which illustrates using the PUCCH for beam recovery. In thisscenario, the BS configures some transmit opportunity for beam recoverysignaling reporting. If the condition of beam recovery is met, the UEwould like to report the newly potential DL Tx beam associated witheither the SS block or CSI-RS in the transmit opportunity, which islocated in the PUCCH region. There are two kinds of reporting format:(1) RS type+RS resource/port ID and (2) RS resource/port ID only. Insome embodiments, a general ID based on renumbering or replacement ofthe CSI-RS and SS block ID's can be used in the second format.Subsequently, the UE can detect the schedule indication or confirmationsignaling from BS. After receiving this signaling, i.e., time n in FIG.10, the UE can send the beam reporting information via PUCCH, PUSCH oreven MAC-CE signaling.

In some embodiments, for in-sync UL communications, the best downlink(DL) transmission (Tx) beam is reported first to establish at least oneavailable communication link, which can be associated with either a SSblock or CSI-RS resource that are QCLed with each other based on thesame or similar spatial parameters.

Depending on whether a resource set has only one or two or more types ofRS, there are two possible types of reporting formats. If the resourceset has only one type of RS, then the reporting format includes only theresource/port ID. If the resource set has two or more types of RS's, thereporting format includes the RS type plus the resource/port ID. After acommunication link is established, the UE can perform further schedulingprocesses to complete beam reporting, wherein information for more thanone beam or even beam grouping information can be reported accordingly.

Alternatively, when the UE is not synchronized with the BS for uplinkcommunications, only SS block signals are used to generate beam reportsfor reporting via a physical random access channel (PRACH) or PRACH-likechannel, as shown in FIG. 11. In FIG. 11, the “BeamRec Channel” can be aPRACH or PRACH-like channel. In contrast to the scenario illustrated inFIG. 10, this channel uses the cyclic prefix (CP)+Sequence mode for beamreporting. The sequence can be associated with one virtual UE ID. TheBeamRec Channel is well-suited for use when the UE is not synchronizedwith the BS for uplink communications and/or no UE ID is available.

In out-of-sync UL conditions as described above, the PUCCH cannot beused for beam reporting (i.e., beam recovery signaling). Although, thePRACH and PRACH-like channels are available, such channel architecturesare fixed (i.e., low flexibility) and it is difficult to establish anassociation between the PRACH/PRACH-like channel and a UE-specificCSI-RS or configurable CSI-RS. Therefore, in accordance with someembodiments, for out-of-sync UL conditions, only SS block signals areused for beam measurement and subsequent beam reporting.

As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 10 and 11, utilizing differenttypes of RS's, such as the CSI-RS and SS block signals described herein,can provide different methods or levels of beam recovery. Additionally,as described herein, different types of RSs can be grouped into one setor QCLed, if the different RS resources share the same or similarchannel properties and/or transmission/receive properties. Additionally,QCL relationships can be inherited across different RS groups or sets.Additionally, L links can be associated with N resource groups, eachcontaining one or more types of RS resources, which are associated withM beam reports generated by a respective UE. Therefore, different typesof RS's can be measured and reported within the same reporting formatand within one report setting (i.e., reporting window).

Additionally, a UE may define or determine different priorities forreporting different types of RS's. If the first priority RS cannotfulfill a reporting condition, such as a minimal RSRP or minimalSNR/SINR, the second priority RS can be used for reporting. In variousembodiments, priority settings or rules can be predefined for differenttypes of RS's, and also for portions of RSs. For example, in someembodiments, a first subset or portion of a RS can have a higherpriority over a second subset or portion of the RS.

In various embodiments, multiple types of RS's can be reported, andinformation related to the same types of RS's can be grouped. A group IDcan be used to represent the type of RS and indicators/IDs for differentRS can be orchestrated independently. A UE can measure the transmissionpower or power difference between different types of RS's received froma TRP, and set different thresholds for reporting different types RSmeasurements, as well as setting rules for RS measurement selection orpriority selection for purposes of beam reporting.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described above, itshould be understood that they have been presented by way of exampleonly, and not by way of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams maydepict an example architectural or configuration, which are provided toenable persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand exemplaryfeatures and functions of the invention. Such persons would understand,however, that the invention is not restricted to the illustrated examplearchitectures or configurations, but can be implemented using a varietyof alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, as wouldbe understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, one or morefeatures of one embodiment can be combined with one or more features ofanother embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of thepresent disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-describedexemplary embodiments.

It is also understood that any reference to an element herein using adesignation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not generallylimit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, thesedesignations can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishingbetween two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, areference to first and second elements does not mean that only twoelements can be employed, or that the first element must precede thesecond element in some manner.

Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understandthat information and signals can be represented using any of a varietyof different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits and symbols, forexample, which may be referenced in the above description can berepresented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magneticfields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combinationthereof.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that anyof the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means,circuits, methods and functions described in connection with the aspectsdisclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., adigital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination ofthe two), firmware, various forms of program or design codeincorporating instructions (which can be referred to herein, forconvenience, as “software” or a “software module), or any combination ofthese techniques.

To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware,firmware or software, or a combination of these techniques, depends uponthe particular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality invarious ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions do not cause a departure from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In accordance with various embodiments, a processor, device,component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc. can be configuredto perform one or more of the functions described herein. The term“configured to” or “configured for” as used herein with respect to aspecified operation or function refers to a processor, device,component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc. that is physicallyconstructed, programmed and/or arranged to perform the specifiedoperation or function.

Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand thatvarious illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components andcircuits described herein can be implemented within or performed by anintegrated circuit (IC) that can include a general purpose processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logicalblocks, modules, and circuits can further include antennas and/ortransceivers to communicate with various components within the networkor within the device. A general purpose processor can be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be anyconventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functionsdescribed herein.

If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or moreinstructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of amethod or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as softwarestored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includesboth computer storage media and communication media including any mediumthat can be enabled to transfer a computer program or code from oneplace to another. A storage media can be any available media that can beaccessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired programcode in the form of instructions or data structures and that can beaccessed by a computer.

In this document, the term “module” as used herein, refers to software,firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performingthe associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purpose ofdiscussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules;however, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, twoor more modules may be combined to form a single module that performsthe associated functions according embodiments of the invention.

Additionally, memory or other storage, as well as communicationcomponents, may be employed in embodiments of the invention. It will beappreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above description hasdescribed embodiments of the invention with reference to differentfunctional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that anysuitable distribution of functionality between different functionalunits, processing logic elements or domains may be used withoutdetracting from the invention. For example, functionality illustrated tobe performed by separate processing logic elements, or controllers, maybe performed by the same processing logic element, or controller. Hence,references to specific functional units are only references to asuitable means for providing the described functionality, rather thanindicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the implementations described in thisdisclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and thegeneral principles defined herein can be applied to otherimplementations without departing from the scope of this disclosure.Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to theimplementations shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, asrecited in the claims below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: determining a relationshipbetween a first reference signal and a second reference signal, whereinthe first and second reference signals are quasi co-located (QCLed) andhave different signal types; grouping a first resource and a secondresource to form a first resource group to be allocated to a wirelesscommunication node, wherein the first resource and the second resourceare QCLed and are associated with a same communication link and onesingle report; and transmitting the first and second reference signalsto the wireless communication node using the first and second resources,respectively.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein a first set of Nresources are allocated to the first reference signal, and a second setof M resources are allocated to the second reference signal, whereinN=MK and N, M and K are positive integers, and wherein one resource ofthe second set and respective K resources of the first set in order areQCLed.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the value of K is indicated tothe wireless communication node.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein thefirst reference signal comprises a channel state information referencesignal, the second reference signal comprises a synchronization signalblock, the first resource comprises a first plurality of resource blocksand the second resource comprises a second plurality of resource blocks,and wherein a transmission property associated with the first pluralityof resource blocks is different from a transmission property associatedwith the second plurality of resource blocks.
 5. A method, comprising:receiving a first reference signal transmitted using a first resource;receiving a second reference signal transmitted using a second resource,wherein the first and second reference signals are quasi co-located(QCLed) and have different signal types, wherein the first and secondresources are QCLed and grouped to form a first resource groupassociated with a same communication link; measuring a first signalquality parameter associated with the first reference signal; generatingone single report based on at least the measured first signal qualityparameter, wherein the one single report comprises information aboutboth the first resource and the second resource; and transmitting theone single report to a communication node.
 6. The method of claim 5wherein a first set of N resources are allocated to the first referencesignal, and a second set of M resources are allocated to the secondreference signal, wherein N=MK and N, M and K are positive integers, andwherein one resource of the second set and respective K resources of thefirst set in order are QCLed.
 7. The method of claim 6 further receivingan indication of the value of K from the communication node.
 8. Themethod of claim 5 wherein the first reference signal comprises a channelstate information reference signal, the second reference signalcomprises a synchronization signal block, the first resource comprises afirst plurality of resource blocks and the second resource comprises asecond plurality of resource blocks, and wherein a transmission propertyassociated with the first plurality of resource blocks is different froma transmission property associated with the second plurality of resourceblocks.
 9. A communication node, comprising: at least one processor fordetermining a relationship between a first reference signal and a secondreference signal, wherein the first and second reference signals arequasi co-located (QCLed) and have different signal types; a memoryconfigured to store information concerning a first resource group formedby grouping a first resource and a second resource, the first resourcegroup being allocated to a wireless communication node, wherein thefirst resource and the second resource are QCLed and are associated witha same communication link and one single report; and a transmitterconfigured to transmit the first and second reference signals to thewireless communication node using the first and second resources,respectively.
 10. The communication node of claim 9 wherein a first setof N resources are allocated to the first reference signal, and a secondset of M resources are allocated to the second reference signal, whereinN=MK and N, M and K are positive integers, and wherein one resource ofthe second set and respective K resources of the first set in order areQCLed.
 11. The communication node of claim 9 wherein the first referencesignal comprises a channel state information reference signal, thesecond reference signal comprises a synchronization signal block, thefirst resource comprises a first plurality of resource blocks and thesecond resource comprises a second plurality of resource blocks, andwherein a transmission property associated with the first plurality ofresource blocks is different from a transmission property associatedwith the second plurality of resource blocks.
 12. The communication nodeof claim 9 wherein: the at least one processor is further configured todetermine a relationship between a third reference signal and a fourthreference signal, wherein the third reference signal comprises a thirdreference signal type and the fourth reference signal comprises a fourthreference signal type different from the third reference signal type,and wherein the third and fourth reference signals are QCLed; the memoryis further configured to store information concerning a second resourcegroup formed by grouping third and fourth resources, the second resourcegroup being allocated to the wireless communication node; and thetransmitter is further configured to transmit third and fourth referencesignals to the wireless communication node using the third and fourthresources, respectively.
 13. A first communication node, comprising: areceiver configured to: receive a first reference signal transmittedusing a first resource; receive a second reference signal transmittedusing a second resource, wherein the first and second reference signalsare quasi co-located (QCLed) and have different signal types, whereinthe first and second resources are QCLed and grouped to form a firstresource group associated with a same communication link; at least oneprocessor configured to: determine a first signal quality parameterassociated with the first reference signal; generate one single reportbased on at least the measured first signal quality parameter, whereinthe one single report comprises information about both the firstresource and the second resource; and a transmitter configured totransmit the one single report to a second communication node.
 14. Thefirst communication node of claim 13 wherein a first set of N resourcesare allocated to the first reference signal, and a second set of Mresources are allocated to the second reference signal, wherein N=MK andN, M and K are positive integers, and wherein one resource of the secondset and respective K resources of the first set in order are QCLed. 15.The first communication node of claim 13 wherein the first referencesignal comprises a channel state information reference signal, thesecond reference signal comprises a synchronization signal block, thefirst resource comprises a first plurality of resource blocks and thesecond resource comprises a second plurality of resource blocks, andwherein a transmission property associated with the first plurality ofresource blocks is different from a transmission property associatedwith the second plurality of resource blocks.